A Canadian-based gender fluid child actor is the first to be deemed eligible in both male and female acting categories at a major Canadian film award ceremony.
11-year-old Ameko Eks Mass Carroll’s starring role in the short film, Limina has been accepted for consideration in both male and female performance categories at British Columbia's Leo Awards, the awards ceremony celebrating the province's film and TV industry.
"We are proud to join our colleagues at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in recognizing the importance of inclusivity when honouring artistic excellence" said Walter Daroshin, Chair of the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia and President of the Leo Awards in a statement.
The 2016 film stars the Vancouver-based child actor as a curious, gender-fluid child named Alessandra who "embarks on a path of kindness" while interacting with the townspeople of a "quaint and picturesque village," according to a plot summary of the film.
Carroll said he was assigned a boy, but identifies as both female and male, and sometimes neither, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"I would love to give the Leo Awards a ginormous thanks for making people under the trans umbrella feel more welcomed in the world," Caroll said in a statement. "The courage that I got being on the set of Limina showed me that I should always feel confident the way I am and that I should not hide the truth."
Gender-fluid actor, comedian and musician Kelly Mantle, who appeared in the film Confessions of a Womanizer, recently became the first performer accepted for consideration in both male and female performance categories for the Oscars.
The 2017 Leo Awards will take place this spring in British Columbia.
You can watch the trailer for Limina below:
